Keep off! A sign warns visitors not to cross Rakotz Bridge. Exposed to the elements since around 1870, the old masonry is crumbling, and the popular attraction in the Kromlau Rhododendron Park in eastern Germany could well collapse. For four long years, the municipality of Gablenz, to which park and bridge belong, fought for restoration funding. Its efforts finally paid off this past August, when a combined federal and state preservation fund pledged 2.4 million euros to save the monument and surrounding park.

GETTING THERE

Lufthansa flies several times daily from Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC) to Dresden (DRS). Drive northeast on the A4 freeway for about an hour and a half until you reach the village of Gablenz near the Polish border.